LabRadar question

[entoptics]

Thank you for the info

On the magnetospeed app I can enter in bullet weight and other data for each string. And I can do it immediately after. Can the same thing be done with the labradar?

How do you position the radar in relation to the muzzle break of a large bore rifle such as a .50 BMG?

Re: Entering Shot Data. You can enter it before you shoot only, but it's tedious. The app should pretty much only be thought of as a review screen and arming device.

Re: 50 BMG. Same thing you do with any other shooting related thing (chronographs, steel targets, credit card) when you bring a BMG into the mix. Triple it.

Frankly, it's a 50 BMG and a $500 tool. I'd test my unit placement with bags of oranges or bananas before I stuck my LabRadar anywhere near the muzzle of a Fiddy. The unit can withstand about as much force as any durable plastic good, so grab one of your kids' toy fire engines and see where you need to stick it to not be demolished, then put the LabRadar there. JMO.

 

[Susquatch]

Thank you for the info

On the magnetospeed app I can enter in bullet weight and other data for each string. And I can do it immediately after. Can the same thing be done with the labradar?

How do you position the radar in relation to the muzzle break of a large bore rifle such as a .50 BMG?

The LabRadar does not need bullet info like that because it measures velocity directly.

Muzzle brakes do affect optimum positioning of the LabRadar. It's best to think about the process differently. A radar system bounces microwave pulses off the base of the bullet as it speeds away and detects the dopler frequency shift to define the velocity. The accuracy of that signal improves as distance increases due to the Cosign Law, but the signal strength goes down as the bullet gets further away. Leaving the radar on to detect shots consumes a lot of battery power. So the unit CAN use the sound blast to turn the radar on. Very roughly, the speed of sound is a thousand fps. So when the sound reaches the unit, the bullet is about three times further away. A large bullet might only be 2x away. Signal strength for large bullets is much greater. Muzzle brakes increase the sound energy and can also "jiggle" the LabRadar. So the unit should be moved rearward a few inches. It's never been a problem for me.

I believe that there are some FAQs on the LabRadar website.

 

[Susquatch]

Re: Entering Shot Data. You can enter it before you shoot only, but it's tedious. The app should pretty much only be thought of as a review screen and arming device.

Re: 50 BMG. Same thing you do with any other shooting related thing (chronographs, steel targets, credit card) when you bring a BMG into the mix. Triple it.

Frankly, it's a 50 BMG and a $500 tool. I'd test my unit placement with bags of oranges or bananas before I stuck my LabRadar anywhere near the muzzle of a Fiddy. The unit can withstand about as much force as any durable plastic good, so grab one of your kids' toy fire engines and see where you need to stick it to not be demolished, then put the LabRadar there. JMO.

Energy is reduced at the cubed ratio of the radius (distance). So it doesn't take much distance to dramatically reduce the energy that is transmitted. But it's still a lot of energy and an expensive tool so I like your suggestion to test it with something else before you destroy your unit. Wise advice.

Don't forget to change the distance setting.

 

[Greyfox]

I own both the Lab Radar and the MS. Having run both simulateously for several sessions and a few different cartridges and loads, the MV and SD/ES have been Very close, generally within a few FPS....the setting/circumstances will dictate whic one I use....with high confidence in the results.

 

[Susquatch]

I own both the Lab Radar and the MS. Having run both simulateously for several sessions and a few different cartridges and loads, the MV and SD/ES have been Very close, generally within a few FPS....the setting/circumstances will dictate whic one I use....with high confidence in the results.

I will not quibble with your comments and observations. I agree with them. However, the Labrador has two very significant advantages over the MS.

1. The rifle and bullet are not influenced in any way whatsoever by the LabRadar. So velocity readouts can be combined with real target results done simultaneously with full confidence that the results will reflect what will happen in real world hunting and competition shooting.

2. The Labrador takes a continuous stream of readings after the bullet leaves the barrel that can be used to calculate actual BC and other parameters.

The weight of the magneto speed affects the rifle during the shot, and the measurement is only taken while the bullet is in the barrel.

Therefore, I much prefer to use the Labrador.

 

[jbs2014]

Re: Entering Shot Data. You can enter it before you shoot only, but it's tedious. The app should pretty much only be thought of as a review screen and arming device.

Re: 50 BMG. Same thing you do with any other shooting related thing (chronographs, steel targets, credit card) when you bring a BMG into the mix. Triple it.

Frankly, it's a 50 BMG and a $500 tool. I'd test my unit placement with bags of oranges or bananas before I stuck my LabRadar anywhere near the muzzle of a Fiddy. The unit can withstand about as much force as any durable plastic good, so grab one of your kids' toy fire engines and see where you need to stick it to not be demolished, then put the LabRadar there. JMO.

Do you happen to have a screen capture of what the app looks like on the phone?
Is the data entered on the radar unit or the app?

Thank you

 

[entoptics]

Do you happen to have a screen capture of what the app looks like on the phone?
Is the data entered on the radar unit or the app?

Thank you

To access the settings in the app, you have to swipe right from the edge of the screen. I tend to put my finger on the orange LabRadar icon in the upper left corner, and drag right. The implementation is terrible, and I'm not even sure there's instructions that indicates that's what you are supposed to do.

When you do the "swipe right", you will get a menu with the "Settings" as an option. Here you can change all the settings you could change on the unit itself with the buttons. Reading distances, signal frequency, trigger settings, etc.

Once you've changed the settings to your liking, you can then do the same "swipe right", but now choose "Device manager". Reconnect to the unit, and it should send the changes to the hardware.

 

[jbs2014]

To access the settings in the app, you have to swipe right from the edge of the screen. I tend to put my finger on the orange LabRadar icon in the upper left corner, and drag right. The implementation is terrible, and I'm not even sure there's instructions that indicates that's what you are supposed to do.

When you do the "swipe right", you will get a menu with the "Settings" as an option. Here you can change all the settings you could change on the unit itself with the buttons. Reading distances, signal frequency, trigger settings, etc.

Once you've changed the settings to your liking, you can then do the same "swipe right", but now choose "Device manager". Reconnect to the unit, and it should send the changes to the hardware.

I see, so it is not like the magnetospeed app that allows you to enter and export your load data and other information with the shot string right from your phone. Is that correct?

 

[entoptics]

I see, so it is not like the magnetospeed app that allows you to enter and export your load data and other information with the shot string right from your phone. Is that correct?

Well, you can enter bullet weight. Other than that, there's no way to add any shot information, and you can't even name the string.

The app literally functions as a remote control. There are no features in the app, which aren't also accessible by using the rubber buttons on the back of the chrony.

The only way to get data off the LabRadar (app or not), is to pull it off the SD card.

 

[Susquatch]

I think it's important not to get too caught up by what you CAN'T do with the phone app and recognize the advantages of what you CAN do.

You CAN operate the LabRadar with your phone like a remote. That's really handy because you can do that without getting up from the bench and risk losing your Shooting position. For us 4 eyed guys, it also makes it easier to see the readout. You can also take screen shots if you want.

Personally, I don't care if I can do any analysis on my phone. I don't want to that at the bench anyway. I am happy to do that when I get back home.

The main advantages of the LabRadar are it's accuracy, its total separation from the rifle so it does not influence the shot, its independence of lighting conditions, and the multiple velocity readings that it takes as the bullet travels downrange.

I have been using chronographs for almost 50 years now. In my opinion, the LabRadar is a whole new generation better than anything else currently out there.

Yes, it still has a few problems, and yes it could be better. But its still way ahead of the others by a wide margin. I can't wait for the next model to come out.

 

[Greyfox]

I will not quibble with your comments and observations. I agree with them. However, the Labrador has two very significant advantages over the MS.

1. The rifle and bullet are not influenced in any way whatsoever by the LabRadar. So velocity readouts can be combined with real target results done simultaneously with full confidence that the results will reflect what will happen in real world hunting and competition shooting.

2. The Labrador takes a continuous stream of readings after the bullet leaves the barrel that can be used to calculate actual BC and other parameters.

The weight of the magneto speed affects the rifle during the shot, and the measurement is only taken while the bullet is in the barrel.

Therefore, I much prefer to use the Labrador.

If I had to choose one, it would be the Lab Radar for the reasons you describe. IMO, there are situations when the Magneto speed is more convenient.
-other shooters in close proximity
-small, packable size
-fast and easy set-up to simply check velocity.

 

[Susquatch]

If I had to choose one, it would be the Lab Radar for the reasons you describe. IMO, there are situations when the Magneto speed is more convenient.
-other shooters in close proximity
-small, packable size
-fast and easy set-up to simply check velocity.

Good point.

I have not found any of those to be a problem with the LaRadar. It packs nice and compact. And now that I am used to it, I find it quite fast to setup. This business of using it with other shooters hasn't been a problem for me either, but I have heard others complain about it so maybe there is a problem there.

All that said, I certainly do agree that there are always going to be particular situations when having an available alternative is a very good thing. At a minimum, a decent backup is always good, and all of us have our individual ways of looking at things.

For example, I love my 260 Rem. But I still like to pack a 6.5 CM as a next best thing just in case.........

 

[tbrice23]

To access the settings in the app, you have to swipe right from the edge of the screen. I tend to put my finger on the orange LabRadar icon in the upper left corner, and drag right. The implementation is terrible, and I'm not even sure there's instructions that indicates that's what you are supposed to do.

When you do the "swipe right", you will get a menu with the "Settings" as an option. Here you can change all the settings you could change on the unit itself with the buttons. Reading distances, signal frequency, trigger settings, etc.

Once you've changed the settings to your liking, you can then do the same "swipe right", but now choose "Device manager". Reconnect to the unit, and it should send the changes to the hardware.

I just got my unit back from repair. The app is completely unresponsive. Tried to uninstall and install it about 7 times. Tried every configuration and combination to even select a device. Spent 20 min on the phone with support with no solution.
When the unit was new/ before I returned it for repairs it worked fine.

Can anyone help. Btw its a Galaxy S7.

 

[Susquatch]

I just got my unit back from repair. The app is completely unresponsive. Tried to uninstall and install it about 7 times. Tried every configuration and combination to even select a device. Spent 20 min on the phone with support with no solution.
When the unit was new/ before I returned it for repairs it worked fine.

Can anyone help. Btw its a Galaxy S7.

I'm not sure that I can help, but I do have a few suggestions.....

1. Try connecting to a different phone.
2. Check to see if Bluetooth is actually broadcasting on the LabRadar by scanning for available Bluetooth devices - try it using both phones one at a time but don't connect with either one.
3. Check to see if the phone is actually broadcasting a Bluetooth signal by scanning for it and trying to connect from another phone.
4. If either one is not broadcasting, you have your problem.
5. Try resetting the LabRadar to factory settings.
6. Delete the LabRadar app on the phone and then re-install it.
7. Try turning the phone off completely and then back on.
8. Try resetting the phone to factory settings.
9. I believe the S7 can use different Bluetooth profiles. I know for sure that my S9 can. If the S7 can do that, try different profiles.
10. Try using an Android Tablet.
11. Try an I-phone or I-pad.
12. Send it back again.......